Hujjiyat Khabar al-Ahad fi al-Aqaid wal-Ahkam - Muhammad Jamil Mubarak
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Hujjiyat Khabar al-Ahad fi al-Aqaid wal-Ahkam (The Authoritativeness of Solitary Reports in Creed and Rulings) is a contemporary scholarly treatise by Moroccan scholar Muhammad Jamil Mubarak, examining and defending the epistemic and legal validity of single-narrator or solitary hadith transmissions (khabar al-ahad) across both Islamic theology and jurisprudence.
Background and Purpose
The treatise was originally prepared as a scientific contribution for an academic symposium. Mubarak wrote the work to counter historical and modern debates surrounding the validity of solitary reports, arguing that since the overwhelming majority of the Prophetic Sunnah is transmitted through solitary channels rather than concurrent (mutawatir) transmissions, undermining solitary reports jeopardizes reliance on the majority of the Sunnah itself. He also highlights that theologians have voiced deep concern that dismissing solitary reports from the realm of creed leads to the denial of established theological doctrines and the nullification of divine attributes that were transmitted solely through solitary narrations.
Mubarak notes that defenses of solitary reports have historically engaged scholars across three primary Islamic disciplines: hadith, theology (kalam), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh). Hadith specialists defended them because undermining solitary reports invalidates hadith critical methodology and biographical evaluation (ilm al-rijal), while legal theorists defended them because questioning these reports dismantles the second major textual foundation of legal derivation.
Structure and Content
The book consists of an introduction followed by six main chapters (mabahith):
- Definitions and Historical Origins of Solitary Reports (Khabar al-Ahad): Defines solitary reports linguistically and technically as reports that do not meet the criteria of concurrent transmission (mutawatir), encompassing narrations transmitted by one, two, or more individuals short of the threshold of recurrence. It surveys early usages of the terminology, demonstrating its presence in early works such as al-Shafi'i's al-Risalah, Ikhtilaf al-Hadith, and Jima' al-Ilm, as well as al-Bukhari's Sahih al-Bukhari. Mubarak challenges claims made by some contemporary writers—such as al-Qadi Barhun—who argued that dividing reports into mutawatir and ahad was an innovation by theological sects, clarifying that the categorization itself is an established terminological tool, whereas the innovation lay in rejecting reports based on that division.
- Scholarly Efforts in Defending Solitary Reports: Analyzes classical and modern responses to critics, outlining the motivations of scholars who comprehensively refuted objections. It also surveys notable modern studies on the topic, including works by Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Abdullah al-Ghumari, Suhayr Rashad Muhanna, al-Qadi Barhun, Salim al-Hilali, Abd al-Aziz ibn Rashid, Khalil Ibrahim Mulla Khatir, and Muhammad Mubarak al-Sayyid.
- Evidence for the Obligation of Acting upon Solitary Reports: Gathers proofs from the Quran, Sunnah, and consensus (ijma'), citing textual evidences such as وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ (Surat al-Ahzab: 36) and فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ (Surat al-Tawbah: 122).
- Epistemic Value of Solitary Reports: Explores whether solitary reports impart certain knowledge (ilm) or probable knowledge (zann).
- The Emergence of the Distinction Between Creed and Practical Rulings: Investigates the historical origins of bifurcating religious texts into those accepted in legal rulings (ahkam) and those rejected in doctrinal beliefs (aqaid).
- The Phenomenon and Motives of Skepticism: Examines the ideological drivers and historical resurgence of doubts cast on solitary reports.
Scope and Methodology
Mubarak intentionally restricted the scope of the study to the primary question of whether solitary reports possess authoritative status in principle. He deliberately set aside secondary legal debates, such as how jurists reconcile conflicting reports when a solitary report contradicts stronger evidence, as well as the exhaustive technical conditions required for a solitary report's soundness, noting that assessing technical conditions presumes the acceptance of the fundamental authority of solitary reports.
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